Blog

5 June 2017

With so many free or low-cost website options like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Wix available, why would anyone choose to hire a web designer?

What are the benefits of having a professional website and do these benefits outweigh the cost?

With the social networking power of Facebook, why not simply spruce-up your Facebook business page and avoid the cost of website design, domain name registration and hosting?

In short, if I can avoid the cost and still retain all the benefits, why should I go with a professional website, when I can get the same thing for free?

The answer:

You get what you pay for.

And, in the words of Dave Matthews…

You pay for what you get.

Old Forum: A Place for WordPress

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a place in the world for Content Management Systems like WordPress and drag-and-drop solutions like Wix.

Just like the ancient Roman forum, the Internet is the modern-day, new forum (pronounced novus forum, when in Rome): a place for the exchange of ideas, opinions, information, products and services. To that end, everyone is entitled to a place in the discussion.

That’s where Content Management Systems and boxed, template websites come in.
This is where they shine.

If you’re looking for a cubicle from which to join the watercooler discussion…

If you need a booth at the farmer’s market of products and services…

If you need a soapbox of exactly the same size, weight, color and shape as everyone else on the street…you’ve come to the right place!

New Forum: Where Everyone is an Individual

But, in this new forum, everyone is an individual with their own style, their own opinions, their own voice. Everyone is unique. In a world of globally-competing ideas, products, and services – you must stand out or be lost in the crowd.

If you’re looking for a presentation as individually unique as you are…

If you want to stand out, head and shoulders above the competition…

If your voice deserves to be heard above the crowd…

If what you are selling and the way you are selling it are different from your competition…

If your brand needs building and your social media followers need a destination where followers become customers…

Then it’s time for a professional, unique, outside-the-box, dynamic, interactive and secure website!

Think about it. Your Internet presence is your single most-visible asset. Your website is the most effective means you have of communicating to the world just what makes you…well, you!

Matt Pelicano

Your Single Most-Visible Asset

Think about it. Your Internet presence is your single most-visible asset. Your website is the most effective means you have of communicating to the world just what makes you…well, you!

Today, most potential customers will research a business online using a mobile device before making the decision to visit your location, buy your product or contract your services.

If your website isn’t easily viewable on mobile devices (responsive)…
Isn’t optimized to rank high in search engine results (SEO)…
Doesn’t maintain fresh and valuable content (also a huge SEO contributor)…
Or is indistinguishable from all the other boxed solutions available for free…

…then you might as well not have a website at all.

“You Pay for What You Get” ~Dave Matthews

If all you want is a static billboard in a forest of static billboards, then “free” will buy you that much.
If all you want is to blend in with the crowd, then “free” will buy you that much.
If your Facebook followers like your posts, but you’re not certain how many of these loyal likers convert to become loyal customers, then you got what you paid for.

But think of the cost!

You could be driving your social media followers to your website where they are converted to, not only customers, but repeat sales!

If your professionally designed website fails to do all of this and more, then the cost wasn’t worth it. A professional website should pay for itself while generating profit. A professional website should open revenue streams.

Is your free, boxed solution doing this? If not, think of the cost involved in settling for a free solution.

Think of the bottom line: you can’t afford a free website any longer.

Matt Pelicano

About the Author

Matt Pelicano is the Vice President and Digital Director of Market Momentum in Greenville, SC.